Galen Marek and the Order of the Phoenix
by khalcyon
Summary: Having ensured the birth of the Rebellion, Darth Vader's former apprentice finds himself drawn into another universe in the midst of its own battle against darkness.
1. Prologue

**_Author's Note: _**_Alright, so Vader's Secret Apprentice has been thrown into the world of Harry Potter by the explosion on the Death Star as he fought the Emperor. When I initially came up with the idea for this story, I was thinking that there wasn't anything left of his body. I have since replayed the game and realized that this was incorrect; however, the idea lends itself to a crossover pretty well, so it'll be starting in an alternate universe where that was the case. I don't plan to make this a rehash of the Order of the Phoenix with Galen thrown in. I intend to develop his own side story alongside the main one. We'll see how that goes. For those you that enjoy this story, great, but I'll warn you now, after the first few chapters, my updates will be sporadic at best; I'm a senior engineering major so I don't have much free time._

_So this first chapter begins with conclusion of Starkiller's battle on the Death Star and ends with his entry into Harry Potter's world.  
_

_**Legal Disclaimer:** George Lucas and J. K. Rowling own the Star Wars and Harry Potter universes, respectively, and any references to said universes herein. I own any original characters I may create.  
_

**- Prologue -**

He looked down upon the apparently defeated old man. He was pathetic.

The Dark Lord of the Sith turned to him and said, "You were destined to destroy me." He felt his lip curl into a silent snarl. "Do it," he continued, "give into your hatred."

Starkiller raised his lightsaber to do just that when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

A familiar, gentle voice said, "He's beaten. Let it go."

"It's a trick," Starkiller responded desperately. "He's stronger than you know, and he deserves to die for what he's done to me."

"Maybe so," Kota returned, "but if you strike him down in anger, you'll be right back where you began."

Starkiller considered this and took a few deep calming breaths and said, "Get Bail and the others out of here; I'll be right behind you."

As the former Sith apprentice heard the _Shadow_ land nearby, Kota turned to leave with the Rebel Senators. Suddenly the Emperor rolled over and unleashed a vicious blast of Force Lightning on the unsuspecting Jedi Master.

Starkiller jumped into the surging energy and intercepted it. As stormtroopers rushed into the audience chamber, he shouted "Go! Hurry!"

Bail, Mon Mothma, and Bel Iblis ran to Kota.

"Protect the Senators!" Starkiller yelled as the lightning continued to build up. He felt like a piece of flimsi trying to hold back a river. He couldn't hold it much longer. He roared and was enveloped by a bright flash.

He felt the world dissolve away around him. He guessed that this must be what it felt like to die. Other than the initial pain as the lightning exploded into him, he felt nothing. Considering the shape he was in after dueling both Vader and the Emperor, he found this odd; then he realized that if he was dead, he no longer had a body with which to feel pain. All in all, not a bad situation.

He was, however, not without sensation. He was aware that his surroundings were a dazzling white, not uncomfortably so, but almost like being inside a cloud on a sunny day. A slight wispiness about the whiteness led him to wonder if that was perhaps a fairly accurate description of this place.

He lost track of how long he seemed to drift. Eventually darkness began to creep in and overcome the white. An image of an ancient castle materialized from the darkness. There appeared to be battle raging on its grounds. Despite the castle's primitive appearance, there were flashes of looked like blasterfire flashing back and forth. The scene shifted focus and zoomed in on the highest tower of the castle. He was startled to see a skull with a snake crawling through it seemingly made from smoke looming just over it. There was a flash of green light through a window, and he saw someone fall from it. He attempted to reach out with the Force to catch it but found himself powerless. He watched the body fall limply to the ground. From its movements in the air, he deduced that the person must have already been dead. He considered this strange battle for a few moments. Suddenly the view once again shifted, this time focusing on the unsettling skull and snake he had seen earlier. The smoky snake leapt out from the skull and lunged at him. Darkness once again surrounded him.

Then he felt hard ground beneath him. He felt that he had a body again, and with it, all of the pain that went with his injuries returned with a vengeance. He felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. The last thing he was aware of was several people running over to him.


	2. I

_**Author's Note:** In this chapter we have Galen's introduction to Dumbledore. Sorry if this chapter is a bit heavy on exposition, but it seems logical that someone as heavily trained in survival as Galen is would want find out as much as possible if they were suddenly thrown into another world._

_**Edit:** Galen is in another universe. If you've read the story previously, see the note on Chapter 3 for a full explanation. I've also added a bit to Dumbledore and Galen's initial discussion.  
_

_**Legal Disclaimer: **Same as before, George Lucas and J. K. Rowling own their respective universes, blah blah blah. Here we go._

**- I -**

He awoke to find himself lying on a soft bed wearing a light set of clothes made from some kind of natural fiber he couldn't quite place. It looked like he was in a crude medcenter or perhaps a dormitory of some sort. Looking down at his arms and seeing that the burns and cuts from his battles on the Death Star were healed without even the ghost of a scar, he decided that it was probably the former. _That took a lot of bacta_, he thought. He saw a woman in a white hat walk into the room and give some medicine to another patient.

As she turned to leave, Starkiller called out, "Excuse me, Ma'am, where am I?"

"Oh good, you're awake. You had us worried; honestly I've never seen burns like those before. In answer to your question: you're safe; anything more than that, the Headmaster wants to discuss with you personally. I'll go fetch him if you feel up to it."

"Please do, thank you."

She nodded and left the room.

_Headmaster_, he thought, _that must mean I'm in a school. That would explain why most of the other patients are children_.

With little else to do while he waited, he knelt on the floor and began to meditate. He wanted to find some hint of what became of Juno, Kota, and the Senators. He gasped as the Force washed over him, untainted by the malevolent presence of Vader and the Emporer. Where the blazes was he? Still, it was more refreshing than any sanisteam. Unfortunately, the Force gave him no insight into the fate of his friends.

A voice dragged him out of his meditation abruptly, "What are you doing out of bed?" He looked up and saw the woman he had spoken to earlier.

"Meditating," he answered.

She knitted her eyebrows in confusion. "Well get back in bed."

He looked to her left and saw a man with the longest beard he had ever seen outside of a holocomedy. He had piercing blue eyes with a slight twinkle to them. He wore a pair of half-moon spectacles. He was clothed in a floor length midnight blue robe. On his face was a slightly bemused grin.

"Thank you, Poppy; you can attend to your other charges. I believe our guest is well enough to move around a bit." The bespectacled man turned to him as the slight annoyed matron walked away. "Now then, let me welcome you to Hogwarts. I'm sure you have questions, but first, allow me to ask one: Who are you?"

Starkiller extended his senses toward the old man. He was greeted by perhaps one of the most startlingly complex mix of emotions he had ever sensed in any life form. Just on the surface there was sorrow, wisdom, kindness, and...power, more power than he had sensed in even Vader or the Emporer, yet with none of the anger and hatred he had long learned to associate with such power. While many of his thoughts were masked, Starkiller could tell that he bore him no ill will. He decided to be cooperative.

"Starki – " he paused and closed his eyes for a moment, "no, Galen, Galen Marek. Who are you and what is 'Hogwarts'?"

"Is there a reason you seem confused about your name?"

Galen grimaced. "I was forcibly taken from my father when I was a small child. 'Starkiller' is the name I have been called for most of my life. I only recently learned my true name."

The old man appeared saddened by his words. "I'm sorry to hear that. Well, I am Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of this school. Hogwarts is a school of witchcraft and wizardry."

"Witchcraft and wizardry? You mean like…magic?"

"Indeed. Observe." Dumbledore took a stick out of his robe causing to Galen to instinctively reach for his lightsaber, but he found that it was not there. The old man smiled and pointed at a glass of water on the table and it began to float in midair.

"That's not magic; you're just using the Force to levitate it. Any Force user can do that. Are you a Jedi?"

"I'm not sure what a 'Jedi' or this 'Force' is, but can Force users do this?" He flicked the stick briefly, and Galen gasped as the glass transformed into a small rodent. "I'll take that as a no." He smiled and asked, "How did you get here? The students who found you say that you seemed to Apparate directly onto the grounds. We have magical wards in place that are supposed to make it impossible for a human to do so. So, how did you?"

"Apparate?"

"Apparition. A means of transportation used to by witches and wizards to instantly travel from one place to another. I believe Muggles would call it teleportation."

"That's impossible...then again, five minutes ago I would have said turning a glass into a rodent was impossible. Of course I could just be hallucinating."

"I assure you, I am am quite real. Although, I suppose, I'd say that if I was a hallucination, wouldn't I? However, I'm not here to determine if this is some sort of Cavern of Plato."

Galen stared at him blankly; completely lost.

Apparently, Dumbledore picked up on this. "It's a philosophical allegory that deals with the true nature of reality. Pay it no mind, although perhaps you might wish to look into it. It does raise some very interesting questions. Now back to my original question, how did you get here?"

"I have no idea."

"I was afraid you'd say that. The only thing I know of that could possibly allow a human to pass through the wards in such a way without the aid of an elf – you didn't have the aid of an elf did you?"

"Um...no." Galen was becoming more confused by the minute.

"Then I believe you came here by means of some powerful accidental magic." The old man became lost in his thoughts for a few moments. "Well, I should still like to understand how this happened. What were you doing right up until you appeared on the grounds?"

"I was fighting the Emperor, trying to hold him off so the Senators could escape. I had intercepted the blast of Force lightning – that's another Force ability in which the user sends a blast of pure Force energy in the form of electricity at their opponent – which continued to build up between until I couldn't hold it back any longer. There was a massive explosion, and I experienced myself drifting along without my body. I thought I had died and become one with the Force." He paused, deciding to skip the strange vision the Force had given him. "Then I felt hard ground beneath me once again, and I passed out from the injuries I had sustained."

Dumbledore remained silent, resting his head on his meshed fingers. His eyes were closed. "I wonder," he said finally, "I wonder if perhaps if the explosion you spoke of could have somehow ripped you from another universe into this one. Magically explosions of that nature are quite unpredictable. You may not have Apparated at all. Strange."

"It wasn't magic, though, it was the Force."

Dumbledore opened his eyes and looked at him. "What exactly is this 'Force'?"

"Well, we could sit here until we both die of old age and would probably still be unable to adequately define it. Many beings have tried for millennia. What we do know is that is an energy field that flows from life, permeating and surrounding everything and binding the universe together. It can be used as a tool and as a source of knowledge and wisdom. It is believed by some to be a sentient, non-corporeal entity that may have created the universe and guides the fate of all living beings."

"A god then."

"In a way, but it also listens to our commands and can thus be manipulated for good or evil."

"I see. What specifically can you do with the Force?"

"Many things. One of the most common uses is to give users a slight precognitive ability the gives them hyper-reflexes. It also allows you to sense emotions, intentions, thoughts, and when others use it nearby."

"All of the abilities you just described can be replicated with magic. What did you sense when I levitated and transfigured the glass? Did it feel like the Force, as you call it?"

"Well, now that you mention it, yes, and no. It was certainly familiar, but there was something different about it. Come to think of it, the Force as a whole feels slightly...different, and I'm not just talking about the absence of Vader and the Emperor's presences. The Force almost has...a different flavor, so to speak. Does that make any sense?"

"I don't understand the Force enough to know for sure, but actually, yes, it does. If you do indeed come from a different universe, and the Force is as pervasive as you suggest, it might exist in some form in both universes. It would seem entire plausible that there would be differences that someone attuned to it, as you are, could detect."

"I suppose. We're well beyond my training and experience."

"Mine as well. As to the good and evil uses of the Force, which do you practice?"

"I was trained by a servant of the Dark Side, a Sith Lord named Darth Vader. He was the man who took me from my father, by the way. For most of my life I have done his bidding as his apprentice, training in secret to one day overthrow his master, the Emperor, and replace him as Dark Lord of the Sith. Eventually I would have taken my own apprentice and done the same, carrying on the legacy of the Sith." He sighed. "So I did serve evil, helping him to hunt down the last of the Jedi, the servants of the Light Side and guardians of the Old Republic."

"In the last few months, however, I began to question my allegiance to him. Then I returned from a mission, and Vader betrayed me to the Emperor. He nearly killed and declared the woman I had begun to love a traitor, imprisoned her, and scheduled her for termination. Vader expected me to continue to serve, ordering me to rally a false-Rebellion against the Emperor to distract him from Vader's plans of using me in a bid for power.

"I freed Juno, the woman I mentioned, and we escaped the _Empirical_ as it followed the course my holodroid, PROXY, had programmed into its navicomputer straight into a nearby star."

"A star? You were in space?"

"Yes, the Empire spans most of the known Galaxy in my…universe if your theory is correct. After we escaped, I was torn about how to continue. I decided to follow the letter of Vader's orders, even if I wasn't sure if I wanted to follow their spirit. One of the Jedi I defeated and supposedly killed had mentioned that the Force had given him a glimpse into my future – "

"So the Force is also a source of divination, beyond the brief glimpses that give the precognitive ability?"

"Well it can be, but the future is uncertain so care must be taken when acting on things seen in visions. Anyways, Kota was surprised to see in his vision himself as my master. I decided to track him down and get his help in starting a Rebellion. I found him after several months, blind and drunk. I convinced him to help.

"Through his contacts I was eventually able to arrange a meeting of some of the most prominent opponents to the Emperor's rule. Before the meeting, I had sent a message to Vader, telling him of the meeting and advising him to stay away so that I could maintain the trust of the Senators who knew nothing of my past. In hindsight, I probably should have lied about the location. As it was, just as Bail Organa of Alderaan issued a Declaration of Rebellion, Imperial forces began attacking our location. Vader strode in with a contingent of stormtroopers.

"He congratulated me and lifted a large stone table with the Force and threw it at me. I was clinging to a cliff as he told me that he had lied to me from the beginning. I was never meant to be his apprentice. He was about to kill me when PROXY attacked him. The distraction allowed me to fall. I guess Vader assumed that the fall had killed me because he didn't pursue me. Juno picked me up in our ship and we escaped.

"I meditated for guidance on how to proceed. The Force showed me the Senators on a massive space station and its location. We went there, and I infiltrated it, fighting my way to the Emperor's throne room where he was preparing to torture the Senators for the names of other Rebels. I fought and defeated Vader, leaving him barely alive on the floor.

"I confronted the Emperor as he attempted to kill Kota. I seemed to defeat him. He lay on the ground, taunting me to give into my hatred and finish him. Kota restrained me though, preventing me from falling back into darkness. Apparently he knew who I was all along. As he turned to leave with the Senators, the Emperor unleashed a blast of Force lightning, and I've already told you the rest."

"You seem to have known far too much betrayal and hardship in your life for one so young. Speaking of which, how old are you?"

"I don't know for certain. I was with Vader for about fifteen years. I don't how old I was when he took me, but I know I was very young, perhaps three or four years old."

"I see. Well do you have any more questions for me?"

"I'd like to know more about your world since I seem to be stuck here."

"Well, our world is divided into two distinct parts: there is the Muggle world and the wizarding world."

"Muggle. That's the second time you mentioned them. What are they?"

"That's what we call non-magical folk. They are largely unaware of our existence ever since a long series of disagreements and persecutions forced the international magical community to adopt a statute of near absolute secrecy a little over four-hundred years ago. The Muggle world has gone its own developing technology for many of the same purposes we use magic, although they are not as advanced as your people appear to be. To my knowledge, their exploration of space has only extended to the moon that orbits this world, and I believe they have sent a few machines to some of the other planets."

Galen chuckled slightly. "You must pardon me, but I'm not used to hearing of humans being so…primitive. In my universe, we're one of the oldest spacefaring races with a history spanning several hundred thousand years. So what about the wizarding world?"

"Well, we go about our lives much as Muggles do, just, as I said, we use magic where they use technology. We are currently having a problem with a group of Dark Wizards and Witches that want to overthrow the existing Muggle-Wizardkind relationship and place witches and wizards over Muggles and end the teaching of magical knowledge to Muggle-borns."

"What are Muggle-borns?"

"Sometimes, a witch or wizard is born to Muggle parents. It is unknown how exactly this happens, though some think it might be that there is a witch or wizard somewhere in their ancestry and the traits remained dormant for generations. Current laws allow such children to be educated in magic and to enter our society."

Galen didn't like what he was hearing. "How organized are these Dark wizards?"

"Unfortunately, very. They call themselves the Death Eaters and are led by a barely human monster that calls himself Lord Voldemort."

"They sound like the Sith. They believe that the Galaxy should be ruled by Force-users. How far are they from completing their goals?"

"Right now, they are still regrouping from the last Wizarding War. Roughly thirty years ago, a former student of this school, a brilliant student I might add, named Tom Riddle began gathering an army, Some were his friends from his school days. They joined him for many reasons. Some supported his ideas, others were greedy for power, and others joined out of fear.

"Lord Voldemort, as Riddle likes to call himself – his father was a Muggle, you see, and Riddle despised his name – and his followers began a bloody campaign to take over the Wizarding community and eventually the Muggle world as well. Everyone who stood against him wound up dead. I managed to organize of group a talented witches and wizards known as the Order of the Phoenix to try and thwart Voldemort and his minions. We were moderately successful.

"Fifteen years ago, Voldemort managed to hear, through one of his servants, part of a prophecy about a boy who had the potential to destroy him. Based on what he knew of the prophecy there were two families that could be candidates for the one mentioned: the family of Frank and Alice Longbottom and the family of James and Lily Potter. For whatever reason he decided that the Potter family was the one intended. He set out to eliminate the threat they posed. Fortunately, things did not go as planned. After killing James and Lily, he turned his attention to their year old son, Harry. For reasons Voldemort was no doubt unable to comprehend at the time, his Killing Curse rebounded off young Harry onto himself."

"I'm assuming that's not a common occurrence with the…Killing Curse did you call it?"

"Yes, the Killing Curse, and no it is not a common occurrence; it usually brings death instantly, hence the name."

"I got that part," Galen replied with a smirk.

"So the curse struck him and appeared to kill him. As you might imagine, magical folk the world over rejoiced that the Dark Times were finally over. Unfortunately, Voldemort was not dead. The curse merely killed his body. He had managed to preserve his spirit if not his body. As for how he did so, I have my suspicions, but now is not the time. Where was I? Ah yes. Until recently, the world heard little of the Dark Lord. Two months ago, he managed to retake human form – and I use the term loosely. As of yet, they have made no moves." Dumbledore's face took on a disgusted look. "The Ministry, however, has refused to acknowledge Voldemort's return."

"That doesn't sound wise." Galen pursed his lips. "So what exactly does this have to do with me?"

Dumbledore looked down at him over the top of his glasses. "Nothing especially. You asked about our world, and these are the most recent events of significance."

"Alright." Galen suddenly remembered the lack of weight at his side. "Where's my lightsaber?"

"Your what?"

"My lightsaber. One of the crystals in it belonged to my father."

"I don't know what that is, but your effects are in the trunk at the foot of the bed."

"Thanks." Galen got up and looked in the trunk. He pulled out the tattered remains of the robes he wore as he stormed the Death Star.

"If I may," Dumbledore said suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"If you'd like, I can repair that robe for you."

"No, I'm sure you're far too busy for that."

"Nonsense. It'll only take a moment."

Galen look at the state of the robe and then back at the headmaster dubiously. "Okay, if you say so."

Dumbledore smiled and pointed his stick at it and said, "_Reparo_." Galen was amazed to see the fabric restitch itself and all the burn marks vanish without a trace.

"What is that thing?"

"This?" Dumbledore replied indicating his extraordinary stick. "It's my wand, my magic wand, if you will."

"How does it work?" Galen asked as he found his lightsaber and examined it.

"They're not fully understood, but they channel the magic from its master making it much easier to cast spells." He looked at the lightsaber. "My turn. What's that?"

"It's my lightsaber. It's the preferred weapon of Jedi and Sith alike. It uses a looping electromagnetic field to encase a stream of plasma in the shape of a blade." He closed his eyes and concentrated to disassemble the lightsaber with the Force.

"What are you doing?"

"It looks like some of the key components were knocked out of alignment by the explosion. I'll have to reassemble it. Please don't disturb me; this takes a lot of concentration."

Dumbledore observed him for a view minutes, noting the strain on the young Jedi's as he reassembled the lightsaber.

"_Hem, hem,_" came a voice behind him.

He turned to see Umbridge approaching him. He ignored the intense disgust that surged within him and placed a friendly look on his face.

"Ah, Dolores. Good evening," he said, gesturing for her to follow him into the office. "Poppy, a moment please. Thank you."

"I heard he was awake," she said in her sickly sweet way. "I would like to speak with him."

"I'm afraid he is meditating at the moment and has asked to not be disturbed."

Her pleasant façade appeared to slip for a moment but was quickly reestablished. "I don't think someone who bashed their way through our barriers has much of a choice in the matter."

"I spoke to him about that, and I am convinced that he did so accidentally."

Despite her pleasant nod, the old wizard sensed her eyes narrow behind the mask she showed the world. "Did he say who he was?"

He wondered how much to tell her and decided on part truth, part lie. "His name is Galen Marek. It seems that he is a part of an obscure magical order called the Jedi. He said that he was dueling a Dark Wizard in a distant part of the world when their spells interacted in some way causing an explosion. He was forcibly Apparated here in manner not unlike that of a house-elf."

"But why here?"

"He has no idea."

"What are these Jedi?"

"They appear to be a group of men and women that see themselves as the defenders of peace and justice. Although he hasn't said so, but I've gathered that they use a mixture of magical and non-magical tactics to combat the Dark Arts. I've noted that he appears to exclusively use non-verbal magic."

She considered him for a moment. "I trust that you'll send him my way once he finishes meditating. I would like to speak with him personally."

"Of course. If he is done by morning, I'll send him to speak with you."

"Very well. I look forward to it." She gave her falsely sweet smile, turned, and left the hospital wing.

Dumbledore suppressed a shudder after she had left. Oh how he loathed that woman. He returned to Galen's side and waited for him to finish meditating. After about an hour, the last piece of the lightsaber was locked into place, and it landed gently on the floor.

Galen picked it up and thumbed the activator switch. It flashed to life with the familiar _snap-hiss_, flickered for a moment, and then became steady. He gave it a slight flourish and then held it up examining the blade.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised. Electrical devices like that don't usually work in the vicinity of highly magical places such as Hogwarts."

"It's not working perfectly," he replied, still looking at the blade. "You saw it flicker at first. I sensed the interference. Now I'm using the Force to shield against it. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to take much concentration." He looked back at Dumbledore. "Will I have to worry about this everywhere?"

"No, only in places of high magical concentration." Dumbledore pointed his wand at their surroundings and muttered what sounded like "muf-lee-auto".

"What's that?"

"Hmm? Oh, _muffliato_. It's a charm devised by a former student to make it impossible to overhear conversations."

"Who was that woman? I sensed something…wrong…about her."

Dumbledore's mouth curled into a silent snarl. "Dolores Umbridge, Hogwarts High Inquisitor."

"Inquisitor?" Galen thought out loud with a look of disgust on his face.

"I take it the term 'inquisitor' has odious connotations in your world as well."

"I'll say. The Imperial Inquisitorius. The Emperor's highest ranking Dark Side Adepts. They served as Jedi hunters. Not people you wanted to cross. At least the Hands were fooled into believing that they were serving the citizens of the Empire. The Inquisitors knew exactly what they were doing. I hope she's not like them."

"Oh, I think Dolores and your Inquisitors would get along swimmingly. She was forced upon the school by the Ministry when I was unable to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. She was soon made High Inquisitor by ministerial decree. The Ministry is trying to control Hogwarts because the Minister of Magic fears that I'm spreading the rumors of Voldemort's return as part of a plot to take over. Fool."

"Are you?"

"Merlin's beard, no. I haven't wanted that in a long time." The wizened old man became distant. "A very long time," he murmured.

Galen sensed a great sadness from the man but decided not to press it.

"I thought the folks at your Ministry were the good guys?"

"In intent, yes, but as I said they refuse to admit Voldemort's return."

"What did she want?"

"To interrogate you. I've told her you're a member of an obscure magical order called the Jedi dedicated to defending peace and justice. You were dueling a Dark Wizard in a distant part of the world. Your spells interacted in such a way to Apparate you here for unknown reasons. Don't mention the Force or anything from your universe. You might want to come up with a name for the Dark Wizard. And you would need a remote place to fight this Dark Wizard…I think deep in the jungles of Malaysia would be a good choice. The Ministry has few contacts there, so she'll have trouble confirming your story"

Galen nodded and thought for a moment. "Sidious, the Emperor's Sith name."

Dumbledore smiled. "Very good. I think it would be best if you rested here for the remainder of the evening. We don't have guest quarters, and I'm confident that Poppy will see to it that you are undisturbed. I'll call on you in the morning and have an elf direct you to her office. Good night."

"Thank you, sir."

Galen watched as Dumbledore left the hospital wing. He lay on the bed, considering the events of the past few days. It had certainly been a tumultuous journey. He had gone from preparing to lead a rebellion against the people who had lied to him and enslaved him his entire life to being flung into another universe as he prepared to give his life to ensure the survival of that rebellion even if he would be unable to lead it himself.

He cleared his and tried once more to peer into the Force to get even the slightest glimpse of the fate of his Rebellion. Unfortunately, the Force did not seem to be with him in that regard. He resigned himself to hoping that Kota or one of the other Jedi that survived the Purge – he knew Kota was not the only one – would be able to lead them.

As he drifted off to sleep, he gave one last goodbye to Juno.


	3. II

_**Author's Note:** This chapter is Galen introduction in which he meets Potter and company and Umbridge. If you're not familiar with aurebesh, go to **.com/wiki/Aurebesh** to see what it looks like. While the alphabet as we know it does exist in the Star Wars universe, it is apparently very archaic and few people recognize it, let alone read it. I've thought this would be an interesting problem, but one that I've never seen addressed in any cross over that ostensibly takes place in our world._

_**Edit:** __Galen is in another universe. If you've read the story previously, see the note on Chapter 3 for a full explanation._

**_Legal Disclaimer: _**_You know the drill_

**-II-**

Galen awoke the next morning to sunlight streaming in through the window. He got up and looked out. Wherever he was, it appeared to be surrounded by an immense forest. He walked out onto a nearby balcony and took a deep breath of the fresh air, far fresher than what he had experienced on most of the worlds he visited on Vader's orders, or maybe it only seemed that way.

He stood there meditating for a while until he heard footsteps behind him. He felt the presence of the matron from the night before. "Good morning, Miss…Poppy, is it?"

"Call me Madam Pomfrey. Professor Dumbledore said to tell you that you are free to go down to the Great Hall for breakfast when you're ready. I'll call an elf to guide you."

"Thank you, in a moment." He walked to his bed and drew the curtains around it. He changed into his Jedi robes and clipped his lightsaber to his belt. He walked out and turned to Madam Pomfrey. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Good." She turned and said to no one in particular, "Dobby, come."

Suddenly there was a crack and a small creature appeared in a puff of smoke. It was humanoid in shape, about the size of a small child with absurdly large eyes, and dressed in completely mismatched clothing.

"Dobby the House-elf, at your service, Madam Pomfrey and…sir," he said, bowing to both of them deeply.

"Dobby, this is Galen Marek. He's a guest of the Headmaster. Dumbledore would like you to show him down to the Great Hall for breakfast and then to Professor Umbridge's office afterward. Once he has finished speaking with her, take him to Professor Dumbledore's office and then return to your usual duties."

"Yes Madam Pomfrey." He bowed deeply again and turned to Galen and said, "Come, come, Galen Marek. Dobby will take you to the Great Hall. Maybe Dobby will see Harry Potter." The creature's long ears perked up, "Would you like to meet Harry Potter?"

"Who's he?"

The elf stopped and looked at him incredulously. His already large eyes got even larger. "You don't know who Harry Potter is? He defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, saved Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry many times, and freed Dobby from his masters. How can Galen Marek not know who Harry Potter is?"

"I've been in a remote part of the world for many years," Galen replied, deciding that it was best to keep to Dumbledore's cover story as much as possible. "I haven't had news of the rest of the world in a long time."

"Then Galen Marek must meet Harry Potter. Dobby hopes he is in the Great Hall." The elf turned and trotted even faster down the hall.

Galen noticed as he strode behind Dobby, that the facility was made largely of stone and appeared to be very ancient.

"Dobby, how old is Hogwarts?"

"Nearly a thousand years old, Galen Marek."

"If this is the original building, then it's been very well taken care of," he complimented as they approached a vast chamber with many people bustling about noisily. Galen looked at the ceiling and was startled to see clouds drifting lazily by. "Uh, Dobby, is this hall open to the sky?"

"No, the ceiling is bewitched to match the weather outside."

Galen nodded. "Useful." He let the elf guide him over to a long table on the left side of the room. Dobby ran happily down the aisle, drawing more than a few curious stares from the students at the tables. He stopped behind a group of three students, two boys, one with untidy black and another with flaming red hair and a girl with brown. The black haired boy turned as Dobby called out "Harry Potter!" Galen saw that he wore round glasses and had piercing green eyes. He could sense that the boy did not serve the Dark Side and was moderately powerful, though not in the Force.

Galen walked over to the table and noted that he was getting a few stares himself. The three students made room for him at the bench.

"This is Harry Potter, Galen Marek," Dobby told him and then turned to leave.

"You aren't going to join us, Dobby?" Galen asked him.

"Dobby cannot eat while working. He will go down to other kitchen and help the other elves while Galen Marek eats. Just say 'Dobby, come' when you are done and Dobby will return."

Galen turned back to the students as Dobby trotted off.

"So, Dobby says you're a guest of Dumbledore's?" Harry asked him.

"So it would seem. I came here rather unexpectedly."

"How so?"

"Suddenly popping somewhere for no apparent reason is generally labeled as unexpected."

"Blimey," the red haired boy said, "You're that bloke that Apparated straight onto the grounds!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron," the brown haired girl responded irritably. "Eventually, one of you will read _Hogwarts, A History_ and finally remember that you can't Apparate onto the grounds."

"Ernie Macmillan was one of the people that found him though, and he swore that the guy just appeared out of thin air," the red head insisted.

"Well," the girl replied with a confident look on her face, "there's an easy way to clear this up." She turned to Galen and asked, "So, did you Apparate onto the grounds?"

"It would seem so." The girl looked slightly deflated at his answer. "Sorry. And you two are? Dobby only introduced me to Harry."

"Ron Weasley," the red head said extending his hand.

"Hermione Granger," said the girl also reaching over.

Galen shook both their hands. He looked down at the food in front of him, recognizing little of it, not surprising considering that he was in another universe, but since these people appeared to be human, it was probably safe to eat it. No one around him seemed to feel any ill-will towards, except…He looked around for the source of the burning malice he felt directed at him.

"What?" Harry asked, noticing this.

"I feel…suspicion, almost hatred, directed at me…ah," he say the High Inquisitor Dumbledore had spoken to the previous night staring straight at him with a deep scowl on her face. "Umbridge."

"Have you two met?" Harry asked deadpan. "I could introduce you, although I think she might try to curse me."

Galen snorted in amusement. "No, that will not be necessary. I get to go meet her after breakfast."

"Well, don't look at her too much, mate," Ron quipped. "You might lose your appetite." He aped vomiting onto his plate, to the general amusement of all.

"Wait a minute. How did you feel what she feels toward you?" Hermione asked him.

"Well…I…" In his absentminded state as he noticed Umbridge, he had given too much away. He had no idea if the ability to sense emotions was common for wizards. They seemed alright, but he felt that he should not reveal his true nature to anyone without checking first with Dumbledore.

"Are you a Legilimens?"

"A what?" he asked.

"A Legilimens, a mind reader,"

_Thank the Force_, he thought, _she made an excuse for me_.

"Yes, we simply call them readers in my order."

"Your order?" she asked, confused.

"The Jedi Order."

She eyed him suspiciously. "I've never heard of them."

"You wouldn't have. We try to keep a low profile." When her expression did not improve, he added, "We don't serve the Dark Arts if that's what you're afraid. In fact, we actively fight them."

"Okay." Galen could tell she was not entirely sure she believed him, but apparently she decided to let it drop for the time being.

"So you can see wad de old hag is dinking?" Ron asked through a mouthful of some kind of sausage. Galen decided to try a few.

"Some Jedi can pick up surface thoughts, but I usually can only sense emotions." It turns out that the sausage was pretty good. They reminded him of nerf sausage.

"Still, it sounds useful though," Harry added.

"But you didn't say anything. I know there's an incantation to go along with it," Ron commented with a perplexed look on his face.

"Jedi believe that incantations are only a way to help focus the mind. We train to do without them."

"Honestly, Ron, you've seen the teachers perform non-verbal spells all the time," Hermione snapped.

"Oh, right."

"What school did you go to? Hogwarts? Beauxbatons? Durmstrang?" Hermione asked him as he helped himself to some toasted bread of a type he had never tasted before.

"Neither." He assumed the latter two were other wizarding schools. "Jedi are trained from a very young age under a master-apprentice system."

"Who was your master?"

Galen grimaced. "Vader. Unfortunately, he eventually became obsessed with the Dark Arts and fell into darkness. I had to stop him."

"What happened?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." He took a sip of fruit juice.

"Sorry," she said.

Galen saw that most of the students were starting to leave the hall. Harry, Ron, and Hermione began to get their things together as well.

"Nice meeting you, Galen," Harry said extending his hand.

"Thanks, likewise."

"Oh and don't tell any lies while speaking to her," Harry added grimly.

"Why?"

Harry held up his hand. On the back of it was a faint scar that clearly read something written in an unknown language.

"Sithspawn! What is that?"

"The result of several weeks' worth of detentions with Umbridge. Cheers," and he turned and left the hall.

Galen considered what this could mean. He shuddered and called Dobby to him. "Alright, Dobby, take me to Umbridge's office."

The elf bowed deeply and led him from the hall. They soon reached a large area with many staircases seemed to move randomly.

"Um, Dobby, why are the staircases moving?"

"Dobby does not know, sir. They do it as they please and have always done so since he arrived here." Dobby led him up one of the staircases, thankfully one that was inclined to be immobile. About half-way up, Dobby suddenly jumped across a step. "Careful, sir. This step vanishes from time to time – see!" Indeed the step did vanish as Galen looked on.

He hopped across the gap and continued on up the stairs until they reached a landing. Dobby led him on a twisting route through corridor after corridor. Galen was beginning to appreciate just how massive this school must be.

At last they arrived at a plain wooden door. Dobby waved him forward and told him to call him when he was finished. The elf vanished with a crack and a puff of smoke. Galen strode forward and knocked on the door.

"Enter," came a sickeningly sweet voice from within.

He did. Immediately he was accosted by an onslaught of pink. The room was filled with lace and frills. On the wall were plates with cats frisking about with enough cuteness to make him want to vomit.

He looked over and saw the toad faced woman sitting at a desk that said something in more of the characters he did not recognize.

"Please sit, Mister…Merck is it?"

"Marek, ma'am."

"Ah, yes." She made no effort to apologize. "Now, Headmaster Dumbledore has already discussed the events surrounding your arrival with me. Would you like some tea?" she asked offering him a steaming cup of dark liquid.

He accepted it and took a sip. He immediately detected something else in it besides tea. It did not appear to be poison, but he neutralized it with the Force nonetheless.

"I would like to hear from you how you managed to Apparate onto the grounds."

"I really can't explain it. I was battling a Dark Wizard deep in the jungles of Malaysia when our spells interacted in a way that caused a massive explosion. For some reason I was flung here. I've never heard of anything like it."

"Nor have I. Who was this Dark Wizard you fought?"

"He called himself Sidious. He had built himself a small empire in the area."

"I've never heard of him."

"Well, unlike others of his ilk, he had enough sense to not draw much attention to himself. He kept a very low profile."

"Dumbledore didn't by chance try to convince you that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned to power, did he?"

"He mentioned it." He grimaced inwardly when he realized his mistake. "But everything I've heard say he died fifteen years ago, right?" he added quickly correcting himself. "I mean, I'll certainly keep an eye open while I'm in this country, but beyond that I'm not too concerned."

Umbridge smiled in her way. "You have nothing to worry about. Dumbledore is just spreading lies to stir up trouble."

"All the same, I'm not taking chances."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "If you insist." She scratched out notes on her piece of flimsi. Using the Force to enhance his vision, he noticed that she was writing in the same unfamiliar script. He would have to ask Dumbledore about it."

"What is your opinion of Dumbledore?"

"He seems like a reasonable man. I actually find it hard to believe that he would be trying to cause chaos."

"I assure you; that is indeed what he is attempting to do."

"If you say so." She made some more notes. "Now tell me about these Jedi. Who are you and what do you do?"

"We are defenders of peace and justice. We fight against the Dark Arts."

"To whom do you answer?"

"The Grand Master of the Order and the Jedi Council."

"Yes, but to whom does the Order ultimately answer?

"You mean which government do we serve?" She nodded. "While we respect the laws of any land we happen to be in at any given time, we do not swear allegiance to any government."

"Then who do you serve?"

"Anyone who is threatened by the Dark Arts. Our allies are any who fight them, provided they use…acceptable methods." This last part he added while staring pointedly at Umbridge.

Her eyes narrowed. "And how would you define 'acceptable methods'?"

"It might be easier to define unacceptable methods. For instance, carving words into the back of someone's hand would be unacceptable."

She stopped scratching and looked him straight in the eyes coldly. "You've spoken to Potter."

"Yes," he said, meeting her gaze unflinchingly.

"You should know that he is a very unbalanced and disturbed young man."

"He seemed perfectly sane to me."

"He does have his moments of sanity, but he is still unstable."

"You're wrong. I have some skill in what you call Legilimency, and I have felt the mind of insane people. His mind was perfectly healthy. The same cannot be said for yours."

She got to her feet suddenly. "How dare you."

"Oh, I dare." She drew her wand. "If you intend to intimidate me, you're wasting your time. I have faced far worse than you." He got up and turned towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I think we're done here."

"Not until I say we are."

"Go ahead; try and stop me."

She raised her wand, pointed it at the door, and shouted "Colloportus!"

Immediately the door was sealed.

"Neat trick, but pointless." He raised his hand toward the door and released a Force Blast, reducing the door to kindling. "Good day," Galen said bowing to Umbridge with mock respect, relishing the look of shock on her face.

He strode briskly from the office. He went down several corridors before calling Dobby who led him to a statue of some demonic looking creature.

"Malted milk balls," Dobby said to the statue which sprang to life and moved aside, revealing a revolving staircase.

Galen rode the staircase to the top. He found and unadorned door.

"Come in, Galen," came Dumbledore's voice before he even had a chance to knock.

Galen walked in and looked around. Book-filled shelves line the walls. Tables held silver instruments of an unknown purpose. There was an empty desk in front of him. In a case behind him was a sword with red gems encrusted in its hilt in a case. Atop one of the shelves was a very battered hat that he was sure he saw perk up slightly as he entered. He saw Dumbledore over to the side stroking a magnificent red and gold bird.

"You've been busy I see." Dumbledore said without looking.

"Sir?"

"I believe you are responsible for shattering Professor Umbridge's door." Galen detected a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Oh, that, well, she did try to seal me in."

"Yes, that was rather unwise of her," Dumbledore said turning towards him. "However, I doubt it would be advisable for you to remain in the castle, although I never really intended that in the first place.

"Your Jedi Order is dedicated to fighting evil, is it not?"

"Yes."

"Then would you be willing to help my order defeat Voldemort?"

"Your order?"

"The Order of the Phoenix I mentioned last night."

"Oh, right, I forgot."

"In return, I will attempt to find a way to send you home to your universe."

"You don't have to do that."

"Nonsense. I take it you will then?"

"Yes. Where are you sending me?"

"Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. It's our headquarters in London, a city south of this school. Only one member of the Order lives there regularly: Sirius Black, the godfather of Harry Potter, whom I believe you have already met. I daresay he could use the company, for you see he was wrongly convicted of a mass murder shortly after Voldemort's initial fall from power. He was imprisoned until a few years when he escaped upon learning that the real murderer was still alive. He has been on the run ever since. The search has cooled recently, so he stays at home."

"What do you need me to do with the Order?"

"The main thing we're focused on at the moment is guarding the Prophecy."

"What is this prophecy?"

"It deals with Harry and Voldemort. I will not go into the details of it; Harry is the only one I will tell this to when he is ready. What matters is that Voldemort and his followers are trying to attain it. We cannot allow this."

"Anything else? That doesn't sound like much."

"Keep an eye on Sirius, please. Sitting around while others put their lives on the line does not sit well with him. Don't let him do anything rash."

"I'll try."

"And don't tell Harry anything about guarding the Prophecy."

"Okay."

"Do you have any questions?"

"Actually, yes. I think we might have a slight language problem."

"Pardon? I have no trouble understanding you."

"Not spoken, no, but your people seem to use a different written language. This is how I write my name." He wrote on a sheet of flimsi his name as he always had.

"I begin to see the problem." Dumbledore bent to examine the name. "Is your language phonetic, and are these each separate characters?"

"Yes and yes. Why?"

"It's the exact number of characters it takes to spell it our written language. I think our problem may be that our peoples use different character sets. Write down each character in your language, clearly pronouncing the name of each one."

"Okay. Aurek,"

"Besh,"

"Cresh,"

And so he continued until he had written them all through Thesh.

"Hmm, yes I had it through Zerek. What sounds do the other characters represent?"

He gave the sounds for each.

"Okay, I think you use them there where we use digraphs." Noting the confusion on Galen's face he added, "The use of two characters to represent one sound, a common feature of our language. I think I will be able to put any correspondence in this if it is necessary."

"You understand it all from just that?"

"I've already said that I'm rather cleverer than most," Dumbledore replied with a grin. "I'm curious though. What do call your character set?"

"Aurebesh."

Dumbledore nodded. "For Aurek and Besh. We call ours the alphabet for alpha and beta, the ancient forerunners of Ae and Bee, the first two letters of our set." He walked back over to the bird and stared at it.

"What type of bird is that, sir?"

"A phoenix. This one is named Fawkes. He has been my companion for many years."

"We have phoenixes in my universe as well, or we at least do in myth."

"Do they have the same association?"

"Of?"

"Being reborn from ashes?"

"Oh, yes."

"As you might expect, a phoenix in our world truly is reborn from its ashes. They are remarkable creatures. Incredibly loyal. Their tears have healing powers, and they can carry loads that far exceed their own weight. Their song can give courage to you allies and terror to your foes."

While it was interesting, Galen was unsure why Dumbledore was telling him this. However the wizard did not appear inclined to speak further on the subject.

"I suppose you are wondering how we are getting to London."

"A bit."

"We'll be taking threshals. Which reminds me…Dobby."

There was a crack, and the elf appeared before them.

Dobby bowed deeply and asked, "How may I be of service?"

"I would like you to be at Hagrid's hut this evening at eleven o'clock with a large slab of raw meat, any type will do as long as it is bloody. You may go."

The elf bowed once more and was gone.

"Why does he need to bring raw meat?"

"Because threshals are carnivores, and the meat will attract them. Now, I'll meet you in the Great Hall at ten-thirty, and we'll head down to Hagrid's."

"Good-bye, then"

As Galen left he saw Dumbledore conjure something white and silvery from the end of his wand that quickly flew out the window.

"What was that?"

"A patronus, a charm that is typically used to repel certain dark creatures. I developed a way to send secure messages with them. I was informing Sirius of our plans. Good day."

Galen nodded and left the office.


	4. III

_**Author's Note:** In this chapter, Galen does some exploring of the grounds on his own. Needless to say, it does not go well. I've made a minor change in the story's premise. Galen is no longer merely from another time and place, but from an entirely separate universe. This was my original idea for the story, but I had changed it, thinking it was too weird. I've since decided that the story flows better with that idea. I've gone back and edited the previous chapters. Should you happen to go back and look over those chapters, please let me know if you see any references to the "different time and place" concept I may have missed. If just references being from a different world, it should be fine. Thanks and enjoy, oh and let me know if you prefer this way or the old way._

_**Legal Disclaimer: **Lucas and Rowling own their respective universes.  
_

**- III -**

After an inquiry with Dobby, he managed to adjust his chrono to match the time system used by the wizards. He spent the morning wandering about the grounds, exploring the environment. The air felt charged in the whole vicinity. He noticed a very large lake. Dobby seemed disappointed that he did not gasp as a giant squid leaped from its depths and proceeded to glide about the surface. He had seen similar creatures on Mon Calamari.

At lunch, Dobby led him back to the Great Hall and to the three youths from earlier.

"Hello again. Mind if I join you?" he asked as he sat down.

"Bloody hell, mate! It's all over the school." the red head blurted out.

"It's Ron, right?" The red head nodded, unable to speak through a mouthful of food. "What's all over the school?"

"The number you did on Umbridge's door," came a new voice. Galen turned to acknowledge two red-headed twins as they sat on the opposite side of the table. "Bloody brilliant." He extended his hand, "Fred and George Weasley. The pig in human-form over there is our little brother."

"Yes, I noticed the resemblance."

"So how'd you do it? Blasting curse?" George asked.

"No, this." He nudged the twins with a very gentle Force blast. They rocked back and forth. They both coughed as they regained the breaths. Okay so maybe it wasn't so gentle. "Just much more intense."

"Bloody hell, it feels like you punched me," Fred remarked.

"Sorry, it's hard to control it that much. Normally it sends people flying."

"So how painful was the appointment?" Harry asked.

"Well, I didn't have to carve anything into the back of my hand."

"That old hag," Hermione muttered into her glass.

Harry grimaced as well. "What did you talk about then?"

"How I got here; she tried to slip something into my tea. I neutralized it though."

"Veritaserum most likely, she favors the stuff," Hermione said.

"What's Veritaserum?"

"A powerful truth serum. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it."

"Oh, yeah, we just have a different name for it. And apparently I'm going to go stay with your godfather for a while, Harry, Dumbledore's orders."

"So you're with us then? Brilliant. What's the Order up to?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Sorry, can't say. Dumbledore's orders."

"Bugger," Harry muttered. "See you later then," he said as they got up to leave with the rest of the students.

Galen decided to explore on his own a bit. He wandered down to a hut at the edge of the forest and met a giant of a man with an equally massive black beard. They spoke for a while, and Galen learned that the man was the same Hagrid that he was to meet later. He soon had to leave to go teach a class.

Galen continued his stroll about the grounds leisurely and nearly had his head taken off by a very angry tree. Only a sudden flaring of his danger sense allowed him to dodge in time and beat a hasty retreat. He wondered why in the seven Corellian hells someone would plant something like that on the grounds of a school.

His explorations eventually took him into the forest. The forest was dark to both his physical and Force senses. He wondered if there was a Dark Side nexus somewhere within it. He walked along a poorly defined trail. Suddenly he slipped and fell down a hill into what looked like an enormous spider web. Deciding that he did not want to meet the spider that built it, he quickly cut himself free with his lightsaber and fell to the ground.

As he prepared to leap back to the top of the hill, he heard a clicking sound from behind him. He turned to see a monster creeping up on him. Clearly this was the spider that had built the web. He jumped part way up the hill, and the monster followed. Galen unleashed a Force blast at it shoo it away, which only seemed to irritate it. The spider struck out with one of its legs. Galen severed it with his lightsaber. Big mistake.

The spider roared and charged forward. Galen danced around, dodging its attacks. He gave it a blast of Force lightning. The beast twitched and screamed in agony. Galen leaped up and impaled the beast in its eyes to end its suffering. He heard more clicking, and he held his lightsaber aloft and was horrified to see hundreds of the creatures descending from the trees to apparently avenge the fallen one.

He jumped back up onto the path and ran for his life. He heard the clicking getting closer. He sent a few bursts of lightning over his shoulder in an attempt to frighten them off. No such luck. They wanted blood. Directly he heard more clicking to his left. He could sense a group of the spiders attempting to out flank him. Drawing on the Force, he put on burst of speed. The spiders kept right and continued to gain on him. _Blasted eight legs_, he thought.

Suddenly he was surrounded, and the spiders began to close in on him. He shot blasts of lighting in every direction, but that seemed to only anger them further. He sensed that the trees above him were clear. He jumped high into the branches and proceeded to jump from branch to branch to branch in the direction of the school. After a while, the spiders managed to surround him again, and this time they raced forward and were on him immediately. Galen let the Force guide him and slashed his way through the monsters. He felt something stab him in the side and immediately began to feel the effects of poison. He drew on the Force to slow its progress. He concentrated and unleashed a Force Wave that sent the spiders flying.

Galen continued jumping from tree to tree and gradually saw the way ahead of him lighten until, abruptly, he was clear of the trees and could see the school in the distance. He sprinted as fast as he could with his wounded side. He sensed the spiders halt angrily at the edge of the forest. He continued for a distance and came to a stop.

Now free from concentrating on fending off attacks, he turned his attention to the slowly spreading venom and managed to break it down into its simpler, harmless components. He tore a strip off the hem of his cloak and bound the wound. He walked towards the castle.

When he got to the doors he turned and looked back. He used the Force to enhance his vision and hearing and saw that the spiders had disappeared back into the forest.

"I think that's enough exploring for one day."

He entered the castle and began to wander the halls. After climbing up several flights of stairs he encountered a strange sight: A man seemingly walking out of a solid wall. The figure turned towards him and noticed his presence. Galen noted that the man was mostly transparent.

"Hello there. I don't believe we've met," the figure said.

"Galen Marek, and you are?"

"Ah yes, the young wizard who smashed Professor Umbridge's door to kindling. Good show, I say. Well, I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, resident ghost of Gryffindor tower. How are you on this fine day?"

"Confused, slightly unnerved. Did you know that there are giant spiders in the forest?"

"Yes, the local herd of Acromantula. You really shouldn't go exploring the forest without Hagrid; the man seems to be the only one capable of controlling them."

"Yes, I got the distinct impression that the first one to attack thought I would a make a nice snack."

The ghost looked at him oddly. "They do tend to have a taste for human flesh. Have you never heard of Acromantula?"

"No, I've encountered them before," Galen lied to keep his cover. "I was caught off guard; I didn't expect something like that this close to a school."

"The Forbidden Forest is home to many dangerous and foul creatures, hence the name. I see you did not come away unscathed," he said pointing towards the bloody wound on his side. "You should get to the infirmary immediately and have Madame Pomfrey tend to it. Acromantula venom is incredibly deadly; I'm surprised you're still conscious."

"I know a trick to break poisons down into their harmless, base components. It's part of what is known in my order as Art of the Small. As for the wound, it'll heal."

"I've never heard of such a spell. Sounds very useful, though

Galen noticed a nasty cut on the ghost's neck. "What happened to your neck?"

Sir Nicholas scowled and said, "A botched execution, I'm afraid. The axe wasn't sharp. Forty-five chops in and it still wasn't cut all the way through."

"Ouch, why were you executed?"

"A noblewoman had hired me to use my magic to fix her crooked teeth. Unfortunately the spell backfired, and she grew a large tusk instead. She sentenced me to die the next morning."

"Harsh."

"Yes, well they were darker times."

"How long ago did you…die?"

"Just over five-hundred years ago."

"What's it like being, well, dead?"

"Can't complain, mostly, although I do miss food. The most annoying problem is that the other headless ghosts refuse to allow me to participate in the Headless Hunt."

"I'm sorry; the what?"

"The Headless Hunt, a club of sorts among the headless ghosts in the school. As my head is still attached, however tenuously, I am only _nearly_ headless."

"I can see where that would be annoying," he lied again. "Well, it's been nice meeting you, Sir Nicholas. I'd like to find someplace quiet to meditate for a while. Is there anywhere nearby that would work?"

"Indeed. You'll find the library just down the hall on the left. Farewell, Mr. Marek. Do try to avoid those spiders in the future."

Galen chuckled. "I will, thanks, Sir Nicholas. Goodbye."

The ghost nodded and continued to glide on down the hallway. Galen started in the direction Sir Nicholas had indicated, when he heard the ghost call out to him.

"Oh yes, and the librarian, Madam Pince, is very touchy about the books, so be very careful with them and make as little noise as possible. Good day." The ghost turned and continued on his way.

Galen made his way to the library and found a secluded area. He sat on the floor and began to meditate. He was vaguely aware of a number of the books near rising from their place on the tables and beginning to circle about him. He focused on shutting out this distraction and concentrated on peering into the Force for insight about the path he was now on. After a short time he saw a cloud begin to form. Gradually it coalesced into a large serpent. The serpent slithered along. Directly he heard a hissing voice. To his astonishment, he could understand the voice. It appeared to be speaking to the snake, and the snake seemed to understand also.

_Nagini,_ the voice said,_ what have you learned?_

_It is guarded each night by one from the Order, _the snake hissed._ This one has observed that one in particular often falls asleep after several hours: the fat red-headed one._

_Weasley, the filthy blood-traitor. You have done well, my pet. Does there appear to be any pattern to the guard schedule?_

_The fat one guards the door every – _

"What do you think you're doing!" a very loud and irate voice called out, breaking into his vision.

"Huh? What?" The books all plummeted to the floor. Galen winced as the spine on several of them broke.

The angry woman before him screamed and pointed her wand at the bookshelf, and several books flew from the shelves and began to beat him over the head. His combat reflexes kicked in, and he managed to bat most of them away as he made a hasty retreat from the library. The books continued to follow him until he was two floors above the library before turning around and presumably returning to the library.

He turned and regarded the bemused stares of several students that had gathered about the commotion.

"That woman is crazy." Several of the students nodded rapidly.

"Alright, off to your dormitories the lot of you," a woman's voice called. The students immediately scattered. "And you, Mr. Marek," the elderly woman, clad in a long green robe and wearing a pointed hat, said, "I suggest you avoid causing anymore disturbances in the library."

"I'm sorry Miss…"

"McGonagall, Professor McGonagall. What did you do to upset Madam Pince so?"

"I was meditating. She yelled at me, and the books that were circling my head fell to the floor. I think a couple of them may have broken," he added sheepishly.

She laughed. "You should consider yourself lucky; she usually hexes people who damage the books. And why exactly were the books circling you head in the first place?"

"I was meditating; that happens sometime. I have problems with fine control like that. When Madam Pince yelled at me, I lost my focus and dropped them."

"I see; do be more careful," she said as she began walking back down the hall. "We missed you at dinner."

"What? What time is it." He looked at his chrono and saw that it was 8:30. "Blasted distorted sense of time," he muttered to himself.

"Excuse me?"

"I thought I had only been meditating for about ten minutes. Turns out it was more like four hours." Directly he felt his stomach growl. "That would explain why I'm so hungry. Is there any way to get something to eat?"

"Just go one floor below the Great Hall in the same vicinity. You'll see a portrait of some fruit. Tickle the pear, and it will turn into a doorknob. Ask the elves for some food."

"Alright thanks. Good night, Professor."

She nodded and continued on her way.

Galen headed back towards the Great Hall and found a stairway that lead underneath it. He found the painting and tickled the pear which promptly turned into a doorknob, and he entered to find a large kitchen bustling with more of the little elf creatures.

"There you are, Galen Marek," a squeaky voice called from behind him.

He turned to see Dobby coming towards him, levitating a load of dishes into a large basin where they washed themselves with the assistance of a few similarly motivated scrub brushes.

"Gotta love this magic stuff," Galen muttered, impressed; it sure seemed to beat doing them by hand.

"Was Galen Marek safe today? He did not summon Dobby after lunch."

"Yeah, I only nearly got myself killed three times."

"Oh no." The elf screwed up his face awkwardly. "Dobby…will have…to…" The curious creature suddenly reached out and grabbed a frying pan and proceeded to beat himself over the head with it. Horrified, Galen quickly reached out with the Force and called the pan to his hand.

"What the kriff do you think you're doing?"

"Dobby must punish himself, sir. He should have tried harder to find you."

Galen just stared at him, completely floored.

"Okay, one: I didn't want to be found. I wanted to explore the grounds a bit on my own. Two: you shouldn't have to punish yourself." He paused for a moment, "And three: only three near death experiences in one day is a good day for me," he finished while attempting a smile.

"If Dobby may ask sir, how did you almost die?"

"First I nearly had my head taken off by a tree. Then I had a run in with the giant spiders in the forest. And lastly," he paused as he suppressed a shudder, "I dropped several books in the library."

Every elf within earshot stopped what it was doing and stared right at him. He heard the sound of breaking dishes from somewhere in the kitchen.

"You're – You're alive, sir? After that?" one elf nearby asked him.

"Only by virtue of finely honed combat reflexes. Otherwise, I suspect that I'd have books lodged in my head."

The elves continued to murmur amongst themselves while they gave him several sandwiches and a cup of juice of some sort. He bade them good night and told them not to work too hard, which appeared to insult them for some reason.

Dobby led him to Dumbledore's office to make his appointment. At the top of the staircase the elf left him. The door to Dumbledore's office was closed. He could sense two presences inside; one was clearly the headmaster's; his skin crawled as he recognized the other. Directly he heard raised voices or least one raised voice and another calm and yet firm voice.

"Albus you have no authority to –" the raised voice began.

"On the contrary, Dolores. I am still in charge of this school. He will go to London and stay with a friend of mine. You know he can't stay here; there's nothing for him here."

"He should be thoroughly interrogated to discover how he bashed through the barriers. He is clearly a very powerful wizard what with the way he destroyed my door without even the use of a wand."

"You said it yourself, you asked him under the effect of Veritaserum – which I might add was not legal – and he told you exactly how it happened."

"You know as well I that Veritaserum cannot always be trusted."

"Regardless, I trust him, and he's going. That's final. If you will excuse me, my next appointment is just outside the door."

Galen heard someone coming towards the door. Umbridge glared at him as she exited. He was glad she was not Force sensitive, otherwise he was sure she probably would have Force choked him.

Galen opened the door and entered. He sat down in a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"Ah, good evening, Galen," Dumbledore said as he pointed at the door and mumbled _muffliato_.

"Good evening, sir."

"I trust you didn't have too many near death experiences."

"Only three, sir. For someone who trained under a Sith, that's a good day," Galen replied with a slight smirk.

"I must caution against wandering around on your own until you become more familiar with our world. I'm afraid Whomping Willows, Acromantulas and irate librarians are the least of the dangers in our world." He pointed his wand at Galen's wound and said, "_Episkey_", and it healed immeditatedly.

"Thank you. How do you always know what I've gotten myself into?"

"I have my ways. Now then, if you will follow me, we'll go down to Hagrid's and we'll be on our way."

"Hang on. While I was meditating, I had a vision."

"A vision? About what?"

Galen related the brief scene with the snake and the strange voice.

Dumbledore looked grim. "That was likely Voldemort and his snake, Nagini. How did the scene appear to you? Were you a third person looking in? Or were you one of the individuals?"

"A third person."

"That's a relief, then. Are visions common among Force users?"

"I've only had a few in the past, but they are relatively common."

"It would seem that, as I suspected, Voldemort knows of the Prophecy. I'll have to speak with Arthur about being more alert when he's on duty." Dumbledore stared at his desk for a moment. "Inform me if you have anymore visions."

"Actually, I had another one as I arrived from my world." He summarized the strange vision of the battle and the skull and snake image.

"The Dark Mark, that's what the skull and snake was. It's the symbol of the Death Eaters. They conjure one whenever they murder someone. You say there was a battle?"

"Yes, around an ancient castle."

"There are few such places left in our world. This school is one of them. Curious. Well we'd best be going."

Galen followed the old wizard down and out of the castle to Hagrid's hut.

"Professor Dumbledore, Galen," the giant of man said when he answered the door, nodded to each of them in turn. "Would you like some tea and something to eat before you leave?"

"Thank you, Hagrid, but no," Dumbledore responded politely. "Mr. Marek has never ridden thestrals before. It's probably best he makes the trip on an empty stomach the first time."

"Alright then. I've got a pair tethered and ready ter go out back." He walked around the side of the hut and motioned to them to follow.

As the rounded the hut, Galen got his first sight of a thestral. The sight stopped him in his tracks. It looked like something straight from the pages of a Sith alchemy book. It looked like a skeletal equus with large leathery wings.

Hagrid noticed his shocked stare. "You can see 'em, then," he said sadly.

Galen looked at him, wondering how you could not see them. "Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"Thestrals are only visible ter folks who've seen some'un die. 'Fraid that makes folks a might nervous around 'em."

"And the fact that they wouldn't be out of place in a nightmare doesn't help that impression."

"What are yer talkin' 'bout? They're beautiful." Hagrid responded indignantly.

Galen just stared at him. Through the Force he could tell that Hagrid was serious. "Whatever you say, Hagrid."

"Who'd ya see die?"

Galen looked ahead grimly. "I've seen hundreds, maybe thousands of beings die. I killed quite a few of them."

"Wha?"

Galen realized he had said too much. He looked over at Dumbledore and saw the old man nod.

"Hagrid, I'm afraid Mr. Marek isn't exactly what appears. You see, he isn't from the jungles of Malaysia. I believe him to be from another universe, cast into our own by unusual events in his own."

"But about him killing so many people?"

"I was raised and trained by a Sith Lord called Darth Vader. He's a monster that makes Voldemort -- " Galen paused when noticed Hagrid wincing. "Are you alright?"

"It's just...that name..."

"Oh, right, sorry. Well, Vader makes Vol -- well, you know -- look perfectly nice. I was his apprentice. It was only with the love and support of someone very close to me and the guidance of one of the last Jedi masters -- the Jedi were the sworn enemies of the Sith, but unfortunately were largely wiped out around the time I was born. It was only with their help that I was able to turn away from that path and rally an alliance against Vader and his master."

"Did you stop them?"

"I hope my rebellion will be able to. The political leaders had been captured, largely due to an unwise decision on my part. I was flung into this world by an explosion that occurred while I was fighting to free them. I hope they managed to get away."

"Me too."

"Thanks." Galen looked over at the thestrals and noticed that they did not have any type of saddle or anything to hold on with. "So how do we ride these?"

"Just climb up and hold on tight. Tell them where you want to go and they'll take you there right away."

"Just like that?"

"Yup, thestrals are real smart."

Galen climbed onto one of them and used the Force to stick himself in place. "So, where are we going?" he asked cheekily.

Dumbledore smiled and said, "Number eleven, Grimmauld Place in London."

At that, both thestrals began to pump their wings, and soon they were soaring over the countryside so rapidly that everything passed in a blur. Within minutes they touched down in a quite neighborhood. Dumbledore pulled out a device that put out all of the lights on the street.

"The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place," Dumbledore told him suddenly.

"What?"

Dumbledore indicated two of the buildings. As Galen watched in amazement, they separated and a third building appeared between them.

"The headquarters is under the protection of a Fidelius Charm. It prevents anyone from being able to find the thing on which it has been placed, unless they are told by the Secret Keeper verbally or in writing. The charm prevents even those who have been told the secret from divulging it whereabouts. I am the Secret Keeper for the Order. Well, lets not keep Sirius waiting."

The walked up and knocked on the door. After a few moments, the door was opened by an elf that wore only a small, dirty towel.

"Oh, more filthy blood traitors. My poor mistress..." the elf muttered as he closed the door behind them.

"Good evening, Kreacher," Dumbledore said to the elf. The elf in turn just stared him in disgust and walked off somewhere else in the house.

"Ah, Albus!" someone cried cheerily. A man with unruly, greasy hair entered the hall from another room.

"Sirius, how this night find you?"

"Going stir crazy as usual." He turned and looked at Galen. "And you must be Galen Marek. Pleasure to meet you. Sirius Black," he said extending his hand which Galen accepted warmly.

"Same here." Galen looked about at the general squalor of the house. "Nice place you have here," he lied.

"Oh, please, I know the place is a dump. Being abandoned for ten years will do that."

"I'd best be going before Umbridge takes over the school."

"Would you like some tea before you go?"

"No thanks. Oh, Galen, I've told Sirius about your origins, so there's no need to stick to the cover when it's just him around. Goodnight." Dumbledore turned and left.

"Well, pulled from another universe, eh?"

"That's what Dumbledore thinks. So, where do I sleep?"

"This way." Sirius turned and walked up the stairs. "You can have any room you like except for mine. My name's on the door."

"Well that might be a slight problem there. I don't know if Dumbledore told you, but while my people speak the same language as you do, our written language uses a different character set."

Really? That sounds inconvenient."

"A bit." They passed a room that looked reasonably clean. "How about this one?"

"That's fine; mine's on the next floor. Well, it's late so I'll let you get some rest. See you in the morning. Night."

"Night."

Galen closed the door behind him and inspected the room. It, and the whole house for that matter, felt dark. He walked over to the bad and decided that it looked safe to sleep on. Directly, he sensed something menacing from the closet. He gripped his lightsaber and open the door cautiously. Out strode the Sith Stalker. The abomination raised and activated his lightsaber. Galen brought up his own to parry the blow and was surprised to hear it scream in pain as their blades met. Galen's lightsaber went straight through the Stalker's. A lump fell from the end of the blade. Galen swung his blade around and cleaved him cleanly in two. As the two halves fell to the floor, they became gray and formless in appearance.

Sirius burst into the room, wand in hand.

"Bloody hell, what happened? And what is that?" he asked pointing at not-Stalker.

"I was hoping you could tell me. I was about to go to sleep when I sensed something in closet. I opened it up and this came out, only it looked like a nightmare version of myself I saw once in a vision. I knew something was up when I cut his lightsaber in half."

"Huh. Do you fear this version of yourself?"

"Yes."

"Would you say he's the thing you fear most?"

"Since I've defeated Vader, perhaps, why?"

"Well, there's a creature in our world called a boggart. They like to scare people, taking the form of whatever they fear most. From your description I'd say that's what this is. This must be what they look like in their natural state."

"Has no one ever killed a boggart before?"

"Not like this, usually we just laugh at them until they explode. I'll take care of it." He flicked his wand, and the creature vanished. "Well, goodnight." He turned and left.

Galen lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, pondering the disturbing scene he had just witnessed. Eventually he turned over and went to sleep.


End file.
